Author's Note: Okumura Tsuki and Literally Dirt, thank you again for your comments on the last chapter. m-worldbalance-u, thank you for the fave and follow. ^_^
Synopsis:
Karneval: Pyromancy
Chapter 28:
Gareki and Yogi rejoined the others, ignoring the way they were being teased about having left for the dressing room together. Gareki was under the impression the others were going to think whatever they wanted to and so what if they did, it was none of their business, Yogi and Nai were already clingy with him before hand, anyway. Besides, if Vanessa believed them, it would prevent an unfortunately awkward situation later.
"Ne, Jiki-Kun you got any Aloe on you?" Yogi asked, as Gareki began to fix his plate.
"I might," Jiki said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a bag of Aloe clippings, "Yeah, here you go, why did the little hit head finally burn you?" he teased.
"It's not for me," replied, taking the bag, "The 'Phantom' was a little too rough. Oi, Gareki-Kun," Yogi held up the bag, "He did have some!"
Gareki smiled. "I didn't expect you to ask him for it, right away," he said , sitting down his plate and taking the bag from Yogi, "Thanks." He pulled out one of the leaves, squeezed it, and rubbed it on his neck.
"Too rough?" Jiki parroted, he looked closer at Gareki. "Wow, I'll say! Is that as painful as it looks?"
"No, but Yogi says I keep rubbing at it, so I need to do something about it before it starts to hurt," Gareki shrugged.
"Why didn't you ask me for it, yourself?" Jiki asked .
"Would you have given it to me/him?" Gareki and Yogi asked simultaneously.
Jiki sighed and adjusted his glasses, "Good point," he admitted.
"Gareki, what happened?" Tsubame asked, now seeing the red around her adopted brother's neck.
"It's just rope burn, Tsubame-Chan, it'll probably heal by tomorrow," he waved her off.
"I tried to tell him to go to the school nurse," Yogi shrugged, "But you know how stubborn he is."
"Don't worry, Lieutenant," Shishi ventured, slapping a hand on both their shoulders, "I'll make sure he goes straight to the nurse's office, first thing in the morning."
"All of you back off," Gareki grumbled, "It's none of your business." He attempted to pass the bag of Aloe clippings back to Jiki.
"Keep it," Jiki said, "Our business or not, none of us want it on our conscience if it gets infected just because YOU didn't take care of it."
"That's surprisingly generous of you, Jiki-Kun," Gareki said, slipping the bag into one of his pockets, "Thank you."
The rest of the evening spent spent with all of them enjoying one another's company. Ranji eagerly hung on every syllable that came from Hirato's mouth, like the fan-girl he was, much to the bemusement of both the ship captains.
Koroku and Shishi actually got along rather well, as well, the two eighteen year olds finding common ground between Koroku's scientific mind and Shishi's mechanics classes. Tsubame and the girls had all gathered together at a table. The rest of the play's cast were off to themselves. This left Gareki at the table with Jiki, Nai, and Yogi, which he really didn't mind. If Yogi's PDA bothered Jiki, he didn't say anything about it, and to be completely honest, Gareki had become so accustomed to Nai and Yogi hanging all over him that the last two or three months since their last visit in search for the Katashi couple had left him touch starved for their attention. At least they were giving him a respectable amount of space to eat, though.
"So, Nai, is Naira working out well for you? I couldn't get through to her while you guys were gone," Gareki inquired.
"Naira... She's well... " Nai shied away.
"I build you a new toy and you've already broken it within a month?" Gareki asked.
"It wasn't Nai-Chan who broke her, Gareki-Kun!" Yogi intervened, "She jumped between him and a Varuga." The blonde tepidly poked at and stirred the scraps of food still on his plate. "Nai-Chan was being chased and Naira followed the protocol you designed her with, she jumped in the fray to protect him until I got there."
"Yogi killed the Varuga, but not before Naira was knocked offline," Nai explained, "Koroku's been working with the other sheep to try and fix her, but..."
"But her secondary system's too different from the others for the rest of them to make heads or tails out of it?" Gareki concluded.
Nai nodded. "I was going to bring her tonight and ask you to fix her, but Hirato said not to bother you with her tonight."
Gareki sighed, smiled, and ruffled a hand through the Albino's hair. "Alright, ask Hirato to bring her to me, and I'll see if I can fix her for you," he offered.
Nai nodded, "Ok!" he answered enthusiastically.
There was suddenly a shriek from all the girls at the table in the far left corner. "Ew! Gross! Get it! Eek!" Tsubame, Kiichi, Sesirie, Tsukumo, Vanessa, and even Iva. The guys were quick on their feet to see what had disturbed the girls.
There was a black bug on the table, scurrying right toward Tsukumo. "Oh, ew! Is that a roach?" Ranji exclaimed, ducking behind Shishi.
"No!" Nai shouted, catching the bug on a piece of paper before the actor who had played the Phantom could squish it. "It's just a hard beetle," he said, "Don't worry, I'll take care of it!" He took the bug, turned , and headed outside. "Mr Beetle, it's not very nice to scare the girls like that, and it's dangerous for you in here. Come on, I'll find you a nice tree to climb outside."
"Oi, Nai! Don't run off by yourself!" Gareki and Koroku both called after the child.
"I'll go get him," Koroku sighed, following after the Niji.
"Weird kid," the Phantom's actor said, quietly.
"I think I just lost my appetite," Vanessa groaned.
"Tsukumo-Chan, are you alright?" Iva asked, placing a hand on the blonde company's shoulder.
"Looks like the party's over," Tsukitachi sighed.
Hirato nodded, "Indeed."
"Awe," Tsubame pouted, "Do you guys really have to go so soon? It was just a bug!"
The two captains choked back a laugh, Tsubame was probably the least effected by the intruding insect due to the nature of where she grew up. Unlike the other girls at her table, she probably wasn't as sheltered from them. Tsukumo, however. Hirato sighed deep down, he blamed himself. "Unfortunately, our little Tsukumo-Chan had a crippling fear of insects," the dark haired Captain excused.
"Who's fault is that?" Tsukitachi, Iva, and Jiki all grumbled.
"Tsukumo-Chan, do you think you can make it to the ship?" Hirato asked, ignoring his critics and gently, placing a hand on his frightened subordinate's other shoulder.
"It was coming straight for me!" Tsukumo finally sobbed out loud, hugging tight to Iva's arm.
Iva sighed and hugged the girl. "There, there... It's alright, the nasty beetle's gone now," she coaxed. "Come on, I'll carry you back home, alright?" Tsukumo blushed, nodded, and allowed Iva to lift her out of the chair and carry her outside.
"The rest of you head on back, I'll round up Nai and Koroku," Hirato suggested. His eyes quietly roamed the room and he heaved a sigh "Does anyone know where Gareki and Yogi disappeared to?"
"I... I think they went out along with Koroku-Kun," Sesirie said, pointing toward the door.
"I see. Thank you," Hirato tipped his hat to her and have a bow at the waist. Turning his attention back to the rest of the Kuronomie students and staff, he added, "Sorry to run so soon. Thank you all for indulging me and my crew tonight. It's been a pleasure. I bid you all good evening." He smiled as he placed his top hat on his head and left the room.
"That man still gives me the same chills I got from his rendition of the Phantom," the director murmured, a hand over her mouth, as she flopped back into her seat.
MEANWHILE
"Yogi, why are we up here?" Gareki asked.
"This is the most isolated place I could think of," the blonde answered, "I didn't want to do or say anything in front of everyone else to embarrass you." He gently wrapped his arms around Gareki, "But you still seem like you're on edge from your performance tonight." He rolled back Gareki's sleeve, showing the teenager's bare arm. "I mean, just look how your skin's prickling at a simple touch."
Gareki smirked, "You and Nai... You both read me so easily, whether I want you to or not," he said, pulling his arm from Yogi's grasps. "Yeah, I told you, I've spent the last twenty-eight days playing at this role... I'm still a bundle of nerves," he admitted. "But, just seeing you guys tonight has calmed me down a good bit, already." Gareki crossed his arms and looked at Yogi. "Alright, what's the real reason you drug me up here? You've been acting sheepish ever since I asked Nai about Naira." He smirked and there was a slight teasing time to his voice, "Don't tell me that 'Varuga' was you?"
"What!? No! Gareki-Kun, why would I ever?" Yogi protested. Gareki blinked, for a moment, sure he had been teasing, but it almost looked as though his words had actually hurt Yogi's feelings. "Gareki-Kun, I think they're looking for you and Nai -Chan again. But I don't know if I should tell you that right now, " Yogi thought worriedly. "It's just..." Yogi's phone rang. He looked at the caller ID, the n back to Gareki. "It's Hirato-San, " Yogi sighed.
Gareki nodded, "Go ahead and answer it," he granted, "Don't want you getting in trouble."
Yogi nodded and put his phone to his ear. "Hello?"
"Yogi, where are you?" Hirato asked.
The blonde smiled. "Somewhere where Gareki-Kun's classmates CAN'T follow, and where I figured the rest of the crew wouldn't think to look for us," he chuckled.
Hirato turned and looked at the roof of the building. He sighed, but smiled, "I can't imagine that being any good for his nerves. The only thing keeping him calm must be the knowledge you won't let him fall. When you two finally decide to o get your heads out of the clouds and your feet back on the ground, tell my nephew the rest of us said 'Good night', and report back to the ship. Iva's already heading back with Tsukumo and I will be returning as soon as I find Nai and Koroku."
"Eh? Already?" Yogi asked.
"It's already past lights out on the ship, and we have a long day tomorrow," Hirato reminded him.
"Awe, I was planning on abducting him and running off to elope," Yogi joked.
"WHAT!?" Gareki exclaimed, taking a surprised step back.
" Yogi!" Hirato exclaimed, "I'm surprised at you!"
The blonde smiled, he knew the implications of following through with that threat; court marshal, loss of rank and his Nyanperowna privileges, and possible charges of kidnapping if Gareki denied going along with it. Not to mention, regardless of if Gareki willingly went with him or not, not amount of pulled strings from Hirato or Tokitatsu would help the raven get back in school a third time. "Relax, Hirato-San, I only said that to see what kind of reaction I'd get from Gareki-Kun. I could never ask him to choose between school and me."
Hirato smiled, as he heard Gareki shouting expletives at the blonde, followed by the sounds at slaps. "You boys take all the time you need, I'll let the sheep know you'll be coming back later." With that, he hung up his phone and continued looking for Nai and Koroku.
"Idiot! Why did you say that!?" Gareki exclaimed, his face flushed red.
Yogi chuckled, Gareki was hitting him, but almost playfully. "Hirato-San already believes we're in a relationship," he explained, catching Gareki's wrists, "He doesn't care. But, that's a good lead in to what I really wanted to talk to you about." Yogi smiled, if Gareki was feeling well enough to act like this, he was clearly feeling much better.
"What?" Gareki asked.
"It's about out last phone conversation," Yogi started.
Gareki stopped in his tracks. "What about it?"
"I wasn't certain at first, but I thought I heard you say something before you hung up," Yogi ventured, "But you hung up before I could confirm it."
Gareki's eyes widened and he froze. Yogi had heard him after all? "I..." he shook his head, "No, I don't know what you're talking about," he tried to deny. His heart was in his throat.
"But, tonight in your dressing room, you said something that confirmed I heard you right. Did you not mean it?" Yogi asked.
"Just the opposite," Gareki admitted, "The Katashi couple. Tsubaki, Yotika, Tsubame, and their grandfather... Even Nai, every time I start to feel I care for someone, something bad happens. I didn't want to risk it happening to you, too."
Yogi sighed. "Gareki-Kun, the Katashis are horrible people," he pulled Gareki closer, "You can't keep beating yourself up over what they've done to you." He gently caressed Gareki's cheek. "Give me two minutes alone with them, and I promise you they'd regret the day they turned their backs on you," he thought. He closed his eyes and shook his head, forcing back What he'd come to recognize as his darker side trying to take over. "What happened to Tsubame-Chan's family, wasn't your fault, either, and she obviously still cares about you. And everything that happened with Nai, turned out ok in the end, right?"
" Stop trying to make me feel better, " Gareki grumbled, his voice full of thinly veiled fondness.
"Gareki-Kun," Yogi pulled Gareki closer and pressed their lips together, "I'm not trying to make you feel better," he said as he pulled away from the kiss, "I'm trying to tell you, I know what I heard." He smiled and whispered sweetly into Gareki's ear, "And I love you, too." He smiled, watching the undeniable blush sweep Gareki's face. " Now... " He smiled and looked Gareki in the eyes, hands on is hips, "Tell me I heard wrong?" he challenged.
Gareki shook his head. "No, you... You heard right," he admitted, trying to recollect himself. He turned, grabbed Yogi, almost roughly, by the shirt collar, and pulled the blonde closer, forcing another kiss. Yogi wrapped his arms around Gareki and leaned in to the kiss, holding the younger male tight.
It was something they both already knew, but both had needed to hear from the other. Nearly all of Gareki's tension from the last few months seemed to melt away as they embraced. They sat together, watching the stars, until Yogi was certain the raven had completely calmed down. Yogi smiled as he noticed Gareki was starting to doze off in his arms.
"Ne, Gareki-Kun?" Yogi called.
"Hmm?" Gareki replied.
"You really shouldn't fall asleep up here, you could catch a cold, " Yogi worried.
"I already told you," Gareki yawned, "I've never been sick in my life." He begrudgingly say up and rubbed the sleep from his eyes.
Yogi pouted at him, "There's always a first for everything," he warned.
Gareki checked his phone, squinching his eyes at the bright white of the screen when he first turned it on. He noted the time and sighed, "It's getting late. You need to head back, don't you? Hirato did say you guys have a busy day tomorrow."
Yogi nodded, "Unfortunately, I do. You're late getting back to your dorm, now, too, aren't you?"
Gareki nodded. "Yeah, hopefully, I won't wake Shishi when I get back."
"Need me to carry you back to your dorm building?" Yogi offered as he stood up.
"I keep telling you, I'm not a kid, Yogi," Gareki scoffed, standing up. "Gyah...!" Gareki exclaimed as he lost his balance and teetered on the edge of the roof.
Yogi quickly caught him in his arms. "Careful!" the blonde sighed, scooping the raven into his arms. "You ok, Gareki-Kun?"
"I'm fine," Gareki answered, "I think my foot fell asleep."
"How long until you start your flying lessons?'" Yogi asked worriedly.
Gareki shook his head. "That's all out the window, right now," he explained .
"WHAT!? Why?" Yogi asked .
"The PT Coach refuses to t rain me any more until the gym and all his training bots have been repaired," Gareki huffed.
Yogi smiled, "The offer to carry you still stands," he said.
Gareki rolled his eyes and silently cursed the fact that Yogi was apparently able to sparkle, even in the moonlight. "Fine, you win," he conceded.
Yogi carried Gareki back to his dorm building and sat him down at the door. "You gonna be alright to walk?" he asked.
"I'll be fine," Gareki insisted, "The feeling in my legs came back half way here." He stood on his own two feet and turned to face the blonde. "You be safe heading back to the ship," he bade.
"Don't worry about me," Yogi said, "I'll text you as soon as I get back to the ship," he promised. He gently tilted Gareki's head up, allowing himself a good look at the teenager's throat. "Make sure to get this looked at by the nurse tomorrow, right?" he requested.
"First thing in the morning," Gareki promised, "Now, you'd better head back before the Sheep decide to either come look for you, that you're not coming back tonight at all."
Yogi leaned in and have Gareki a gentle, chaste kiss on the lips. "Good night, Gareki," he whispered.
"Good night, Yogi," Gareki said, as he watched the Lieutenant leave.
Author's Note: I guess they're finally official now! 3 ^_^